Betting account closed with money in it?
Ask the company what will happen to the money separately from why it closed your account. Keep the closure message and the last balance you can verify. You do not need to ask to gamble again to raise a payment concern.
Follow the steps below. Keep your records privately; do not send them to this site.
Ask these five questions
Use the company's published complaints channel. If you cannot log in, use the contact details on its official website, not a number sent by a stranger.
- What was my balance when you closed the account?
- Which amounts are deposits, winnings, unsettled bets or bonus credit?
- What is happening to any withdrawal already requested?
- Are you withholding any amount? If so, what is the reason and which term applies?
- What information do you need from me, and how can I provide it securely?
Keep the amounts separate
Make a short list: the balance shown, the date of that balance, each pending withdrawal and any unsettled bets. Mark anything you cannot confirm. Do not add a withdrawal to the balance if that same money is already included.
Save statements, bet references, withdrawal confirmations and messages you already have. If access has gone, ask for the relevant records and dates. Do not open another gambling account to investigate or test an exclusion.
Closure and payment are different questions
The Gambling Commission explains that a company may close an account for several reasons. Its terms and the particular circumstances matter. Closure alone does not establish that money is owed or that the operator can keep it.
Identity or financial checks can sometimes be legitimate. Ask what is outstanding rather than assuming every request is a refusal to pay.
IBAS does not generally deal with a company's decision to refuse future bets. A dispute about bets already accepted may be different. Check the named dispute provider's coverage before referring a payment complaint.
Make the complaint specific
Set out when the account closed, what amount you dispute and which records support it. Explain what you want the company to investigate or correct. Ask for a written response and keep the date the complaint was received.
If the response does not resolve an eligible GB payment dispute, check the independent route and complaint timing in our IBAS guide. The Gambling Commission does not recover individual balances.
Check which rules and service apply
England, Wales and Scotland: the Gambling Commission regulates gambling in Great Britain. Check the operator's legal name, licence and the dispute service named in its complaints procedure.
Northern Ireland has a separate gambling framework. Do not assume a GB procedure applies simply because you recognise the brand. Check the entity you dealt with, where you were gambling and the relevant dates.
Republic of Ireland: GRAI's complaints remit is being introduced in stages. Check its current page against the activity, licence and dates involved. GRAI is not a consumer dispute-resolution service.
If the operator or licence is unclear, establish those details before choosing a route. Do not assume an offshore business participates in a UK dispute scheme.
Sources checked . General information, not legal advice. The rules that apply depend on where and when this happened.